Switch-lock.



No. 734,723. PATENTED JULY 28, 1903. H. H. LOUIS.

SWITCH LOCK.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 1s, 1902.

No MODEL.

MAI/255555: fz? UEZZZUZ'. ,e M6@ ummm@ switches which are manually operated, its ob- 'ZO man frequently becomes displaced by the rear `wheels of the front truck, and thereby causes showing such track portion also in section.

. y as to be oscillatory, its axis of oscillation be- `Newburg Hamlet, county of Cuyahoga, and v State 0f Ohio, `have invented a new and useful best mode in which I have contemplated ap- UNiTnD STATES Patented July 28, 1903.

PATENT Ormea.

HERMAN II. LOUIS, OF NEWBURG HAMLET, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF `TVVO-THIRDS TO H. M. FENTON AND .IOSEPl-I P. HAMILTON,

4OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

SWITCH-LOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters 4l'atent No. 734,723,`dated July 28, 1903. v

Applicationfilearebmmy13,1902. serinnae'ass. (Norman.)

To a/ZZ whom, it may concern.:

Be it known that I, HERMAN H, LOUIS, a l citizen of the United States, and a resident of Improvement injSwitch-Locks, of which the" following is a specification, the principle of the invention being `herein explained and the plying that principle, so as Vto distinguish it from other inventions. My invention `relates to streetrailway ject being to lock the switchpoint of the switch in either of its' two extreme or operative positions, whereby its accidental displacef. ment during thepassage of a car over it is prevented. In the double-truck cars at present used the switch-point after having been shifted to the desired position by the motorthe rear truck to take the wrong track. Suchj accident is exceedingly troublesome, and long delays on car`1ines are experienced as a result, it being frequently found to be exceedingly diflicult to back the car, since such rear truck in so deviating becomes derailed.

Said invention consists of means hereinafter fully described, and particularly set forth. in the claims.

The annexed drawings and the following description set forth in detail certain mechanism embodying the invention, such disclosed means constituting but one of various mechanical forms in which the principle of the invention may be used.

In said annexed drawings, Figure I represents a plan view of a device embodying my invention, showing also a portion of a cartrack. adjacent to theswitch-point. Fig. II represents a vertical longitudinal section of the device, taken upon the line 2 2, Fig. I,

The switch-point A is pivoted at its end, so

ing coincidentwith the axis of a downwardlyextending shaft B, secured to the point and passing through a supporting-plate O, forming a part of the rails or switch secured thereforms a part.

`cillatory stroke.

the walls of a metal protecting-casing'Dand has secured thereto one end of an Varm E, whose other end is provided with an antifriction-roller e. Said arm, it is seen, is hence capableof oscillation with theswitch-point A and shaft B. In the path of said rol'lerare two oppositely-inclined surfaces f f, formed upon the end of a spring-actuated plunger. F, one of said surfaces being kept constantly in contact with saidroller by the helical spring F', located in a barrel F2 and confined therein by a plate F3, which is held therein by a screw F4, engaging a thread formed in or otherwise secured to the casting F5, of which the barrel It is seen that by means of the screw the tension of the spring may be varied. Said casting is, as shown, located within to. `The lower end of said shaft passes through the casing D and is removably secured there- `and pressing against the roller holds'the arm and shaft securely at one end of their oscillatory stroke and the switch-point in its corresponding extreme position or end of its os- When it is desired to change the position of the point, it is manually thrown over toward the opposite side. Such action changes the position of the arm, causes the roller to travel across the inclined surface with which it is in contact, and thereby causes the plunger to yield until the roller passes over to the opposite inclined surface. On so reaching such surface the plunger actuates the arm to throw the switch-point entirely over and locks it in such position.

It will beseen that by using the construc tion above described the entire mechanism is inclosed in a protecting-covering,- thereby preventing interference with its proper operation from external causes. The point of entrance of the shaft B into the casing D is made so as to cause said shaft to fit snugly, thereby preventing the entrance of'dirt and dust into such casing. By making the axis of this shaft coincident with the axis of oscillation of the switch-point it is seen that the necessity for the use of slots is entirely dis- IOO pensed with, and the bearing of the shaft in the plate C may be made to t snugly, so that it is seen that the possibility of interference With the correct operation of the device is reduced to a minimum. Such construction further permits all the mechanism to be placed below the surface of the road-bed, thereby entirely removing it as a cause of obstruction to vehicles passing over such bed.

Other modes of applying the principle of myinvention may be employed instead of the one explained, change being made as regards the mechanism herein disclosed provided the means stated by any one of the following claims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention 1. Thecombination ofan oscillatoryswitch point provided with a shaft coaxial with its axis of oscillation, a laterally-extending arm and a spring-actuated plunger having oppositely-inclined surfaces, the latter lying in the oscillatory path of the end of said arm.

2. The combination of an oscillatory switchpoint provided with a shaft coaxial with its axis of oscillation, a laterally-extending arm secured to said shaft, a casing, and means in said casing for engaging and securing said arm at the ends of its path of oscillation, said means consisting of a casting adjustably and removably securable in said casing, and a spring-actuated plunger having oppositelyinclined bearing-surfaces engaging said arm to hold same.

Signed by me this 11th day of February, 1902.

HERMAN H. LoUIs.

Attest:

A. E. MERKEL, D. T. DAvIEs. 

